Today in History

1494 – Forces of France’s King Charles VIII enter Rome.

1775 – The British repel an attack by Continental Army generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold at Quebec. Montgomery is killed.

1853 – Sir George Grey leaves NZ, after his first term as governor.

1857 – Queen Victoria, right, makes Ottawa the capital of Canada.

1879 – US inventor Thomas Edison gives first demonstration of his electric incandescent light at Menlo Park, New Jersey.

1974 – Private US citizens are allowed to buy and own gold for the first time in more than 40 years.

1988 – India and Pakistan agree not to attack each other’s nuclear facilities.

1991 – Representatives of North Korea and South Korea agree not to use nuclear weapons.

1993 – Teenage granddaughter of Cuban leader Fidel Castro arrives in the United States for a reunion with her mother, who defected from Cuba the previous week.

1999 – US officially hands over Panama Canal to Panamanian control.

2003 – Four climbers, including mountain guides Paul Scaife and David Hiddleston, are killed when their party is hit by an avalanche on Mt Tasman, in Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park.

2004 – Locked doors at a nightclub in Buenos Aires block or slow the exit of concert-goers fighting to escape a fire that kills 186 people and injures hundreds.

Birthdays

Bonnie Prince Charlie, pretender to British throne (1720-1788); Henri Matisse, French artist (1869-1954); Anthony Hopkins, UK actor (1937-); Sir Alex Ferguson, UK football manager (1941-); Ben Kingsley, UK actor (1943-); John Denver, US singer (1943-97); Donna Summer, US singer (1948-2012); Guyon Espiner, NZ journalist (1970-); Richie McCaw, NZ rugby player (1980-).